Bob Crow elected as RMT chief

This is Bob Crow, celebratory glass in hand, just an hour or two after being declared the new leader of the RMT, one of the most powerful unions in the country and with the ability to halt the railways and Tube.

Behind him in the St Pancras pub where the celebrations took place - fuelled by several dozen bottles of champagne and pints of lager - a large handwritten banner proclaimed the delight of his hard Left comrades: "Well done Bob - the revolution starts here."

His victory - he beat moderate Phil Bialyk by 12,051 votes to 4,512 after only 30 per cent of the almost 60,000-strong union bothered to turn out - sent a shiver down the backs of the chiefs of the mainline passenger train companies and those at the Tube. They rightly fear a new round of hard bargaining over pay and working conditions, backed by the inevitable threat of "no agreement, no trains".

It was, however, an inauspicious start to the reign of Mr Crow, 42, who had promised that if elected his first job would be to put the RMT "on a more professional basis". Privately, some at the RMT's Euston headquarters viewed his behaviour as anything but professional. They were plainly both furious and embarrassed that Mr Crow had badly let the union down within minutes of being confirmed as leader.

About 50 members of the union downed pints with Mr Crow to the throb of Guns 'n' Roses records and loud dance music. As the celebrations continued, puddles of beer and empty glasses covered the tables.

Inside the pub Crow was cheered and bearhugged by supporters including former RMT president Phil Boston and officials from the public-sector union Unison. As the party progressed, numbers were swelled by members of the Labour Left pressure group.

Most were drinking in a private upstairs room of the Judd Street pub.

A large man with shaven head and several enormous gold signet rings ensured that nobody other than invited guests were allowed in. He blocked the door growling: "RMT only. This is a private party."

Mr Crow, despite being the centre of the celebrations, sneaked out at about 8.30pm. As he left he was heard to tell a colleague: "It is about time for me to go. I have had enough already."

By 10pm several party-goers had staggered out into the Euston Road. Ignoring the Tube and mainline station within yards of the pubs exit they flagged down black taxi cabs.

The problems started earlier in the afternoon when Mr Crow, a former member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, was said to have been "waylaid" by supporters on his way to the RMT's HQ to hear the election result.

Voting details were being supplied to the RMT's controlling executive committee by the Electoral Reform Society. The committee met at 4pm and was due to give the result to the three candidates.

National newspapers, television crews and radio reporters arrived for a 4.30pm press conference, and the photographers took up their positions. But there was no sign of Mr Crow.

Deadlines came and went. There was a flurry of officials but still no sign of Mr Crow. Just after 5pm Vernon Hince, who has been acting general secretary since the death of Labour stalwart Jimmy Knapp last year, burst into the room looking embarrassed. "I am sorry, I am by myself at the present time," he apologised. Mr Hince - who is to retire shortly - declared that Mr Crow had won the election and was the union's new leader with immediate effect. Except there was no leader to be found - at that stage it was not known that he had already started celebrating in O'Neills.

Mr Hince continued to offer his apologies and stall for time hoping his new leader would turn up. Struggling over what to say to the ranks of assembled media, he continued: "At the present time I am told he is not available. He should be very shortly so if you want to hang on for a few minutes, do. That is really all I have got to say. . . . Thank you for your cooperation and thank you for your patience this afternoon. If you want to hang on for a few minutes Bob should shortly be about."

By this time in was nearly 5.30pm and Mr Hince, now looking furious as well as embarrassed, fled the room. At six o'clock Mr Crow still had not appeared. His spokesman said then: "He is not coming. That is all I can say. I cannot give a reason."

The BBC Newsnight team, who had booked Mr Crow to appear live, were now decidedly anxious. In the end Mr Crow failed to appear on the programme. An insider said: "This is the second time he has let us down. When he didn't turn up last time we had to get Phil Bialyk to take his place. It is not good enough."

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